'Dogs get down to business

March 04, 2002|BY CURT HORNBECKER / Staff Correspondent

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - If the Jefferson boys basketball team could see the top of the crater in which it found itself at the end of the first quarter, Brandon Barrett, Buck Springette and Kevin Pittsnogle would have been standing with picks and shovels resting on their shoulders.

The Martinsburg trio led a charge that essentially ended the West Virginia Region II Section 1 final after just eight minutes of play.

At 6-foot-10, Pittsnogle provided the intimidation and rebounding, Barrett started the break and Springette finished as the Bulldogs whipped Jefferson 82-47 at Shepherd College's Butcher Center Friday night to advance to the region final Tuesday night against Keyser.

The Cougars' inability to put the ball in the hoop early in the game - Jefferson missed its first 16 shots from the floor - allowed the Bulldogs (20-4) to run rampant and roll to a 24-2 advantage entering the second quarter.

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"After missing the first five or six really easy ones and not scoring we became tentative, and Martinsburg really fed on that," said Jefferson coach Scott Douglas. "That's how a team becomes good, and (the Bulldogs) are a very good team."

Pittsnogle warmed the bench through the entire second quarter with two personal fouls, but Jefferson couldn't do much damage, and trailed 40-23 at the intermission with Kevin Jackson scoring all but 10 of the Cougars points.

"(Jefferson) knew there was a 6-foot-10 guy in the middle, and he's a good shot blocker," said Martinsburg coach Dave Rogers. "I don't like him on the bench, but that's part of the game. We've had guys step up all year long, and they did it again tonight."

Any hope Jefferson (11-12) had of crawling back to within striking distance was dashed midway through the third period as the Bulldogs opened the second half with a 18-4 run - Pittsnogle and Barrett each contributed six points in the spree - that gave Martinsburg a 31-point advantage.

The Bulldogs reeled of 14 of the first 16 points of the fourth period, pulling all their starters at the midway point, before Jefferson's subs scored seven of the game's final nine points.

"It was fun coming out and playing hard," Barrett said. "I think this was probably the best we've played all year."